A massive fire at a hotel in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar area has left 21 people dead and at least 58 others rescued, but amid the tragedy, several local residents emerged as unexpected heroes after risking their lives to save those trapped inside the burning building.
Among them were father-son duo Riyazuddin Mansuri and his son Armaan Mansuri, who run a mattress shop in Hauz Rani near the incident site. As flames quickly spread through the five-storey Hotel Flourish Stay B&B on Wednesday morning, guests were seen jumping from upper floors in panic.
Seeing the situation, the duo rushed to their shop and brought out mattresses, placing around 25 to 30 of them on the road below to create a cushion for people forced to jump to escape the fire.
“Allah gave me the responsibility to save lives,” says Armaan
Armaan Mansuri said he did not think about his business loss at the time and only focused on saving people.
“Allah gave me the responsibility to save lives,” he said, adding, “We put mattresses on the road so people could jump safely. At least seven to eight lives were saved because of this.”
His father, Riyazuddin, also said the effort was immediate and instinctive. “I saved around eight people by placing mattresses below when I saw them jumping. We also used bedsheets to cover the bodies later. We rescued more than 20 people,” he said.
He added that financial loss was not a concern during the emergency. “When we saw people trapped with no escape, we only thought about saving them.”
Locals used mattresses and bedsheets to rescue victims
Eyewitnesses and other rescuers said the mattresses from Armaan’s shop played a major role in reducing fatalities. Mohammad Afzal, who helped during the rescue operation, said the response from locals was quick and coordinated.
“When we reached, the fire had already spread. We brought mattresses from Armaan’s shop and placed them outside so people could jump,” he said.
“Some people survived because of those mattresses. Others were pulled out later when firefighters controlled the blaze,” he added.
Afzal also said bedsheets from the shop were used to carry injured victims out of the building. “We did not have any rescue equipment. We used bedsheets to lower people safely from upper floors,” he said.
Fire spread quickly, rescue was difficult
The fire reportedly began around 8:30 am and rapidly engulfed the building, which officials said had limited exits and sealed windows. Rescue teams along with local residents worked together to evacuate trapped guests.
Officials said at least 58 people were rescued and shifted to hospitals. The victims included 12 foreign nationals who were staying at the hotel while visiting relatives undergoing treatment in nearby hospitals.
Authorities have also raised concerns over fire safety compliance. Preliminary findings suggest the hotel may not have had a valid fire No-Objection Certificate (NOC) and was allegedly operating beyond its permitted capacity of six rooms, with nearly 25 rooms in use, including basement spaces.
Police have arrested the hotel owner, Lavkesh Bajaj, and registered a case of culpable homicide as investigations continue.
“We used CPR to save lives,” says rescuer Waseem Raja
Another rescuer, Waseem Raja, who works at Max Hospital, said his medical training helped him assist victims suffering from smoke inhalation.
“My name is Waseem Raja. I work at Max Hospital. We are trained to handle emergencies like mass casualties and CPR,” he said.
He added, “I used that training inside the building and outside while shifting patients to ambulances. We informed the hospital team immediately, which helped save lives.”
Raja said many victims were unconscious due to smoke but not severely burned. “Their skin was black from smoke, but not burnt. We gave CPR without delay, which helped save several lives,” he said.
